Shadow, Specter, Spook
by Allekha
Summary: Taiwan convinces America to dress up with her for this year's Halloween party. There won't be any ghosts there, right? (Fluff, Taiwan and America friendship)


A/N: Written for VampirePaladin for Trick or Treat 2015. A little strange to be posting something Halloween-themed two weeks later but...

* * *

October was sweeping in, and after a rainy September, Taiwan was ready for some drier and cooler weather. She spent a little more time walking outside after work each day, usually munching on some snack she had picked up on her way home. This particular day, however, she had spent lazily, laying on her bed with her laptop and her window propped open to invite a breeze in.

Her phone had been dinging with messages all day, but it rang for the first time around dinner, when she was contemplating whether she actually wanted to cook, actually wanted to go out, or if she should just order something. She had to fish around her covers for a few moment to find her phone. "Hello?" she asked, not having quite read the caller ID.

"Hello!" The voice made Taiwan grin and sit up, feeling more energetic already.

"America! Hey, how are you?"

They chatted for a while, talking about this and that, until the topic of conversation turned towards the Halloween party that the nations were having at the end of the month. Taiwan was looking forward to seeing everyone's costumes this year. Japan was being coy about what he was dressing as, and Vietnam had only said that it would be something relatively low-key, and China had just grumped about western capitalistic holidays when she had asked (but she knew he would be bringing plenty of his delicious traditional sweets anyway). "Do you have your costume already?" America asked.

"Mm, sort of! I kind of wanted to do a pair costume kind of thing this year, but Japan already has something, and Hong Kong didn't want to do anything interesting, so... hey, what about you, America?"

"I have no idea yet! I have a lot of ideas, I just can choose yet."

"Then why not do something with me? I was thinking of dressing up as a witch – the cute kind, not the scary kind. So, like, you could be a black cat, or a wizard, or – ooh, I know. Witches are supposed to talk with spirits and ghosts, right? You'd make an awesome ghost!"

"Uh, Taiwan? You do know that dressing as a ghost is dangerous, right?"

"Huh?"

"Well for one thing it's easy to trip on and hard to see out of–"

"I didn't mean that kind! You have a ton of old clothes lying around somewhere, right? You could wear some of those, and put on some creepy makeup, and there you go."

"–and also ghosts don't like it when you mock them and I mean it's not as dangerous as using a ouija board or playing Bloody Mary but it's still not a good idea because you know what we might bring through and especially on Halloween when there's already lots of spirits around even if you can't see them–"

Taiwan rolled her eyes, then burst out laughing until America shut up. "C'mon," she said when the other side of the line went quiet. "Don't tell me you're really scared of a superstition like that. A ghost isn't going to just appear because someone is dressed like one, or else you'd see a bunch of them in your country on Halloween, right? Besides, even if one did show up, England would see it first, and Belarus is already planning a ghost hunt for the party, so it'll be fine."

"Well, when you put it like that..." She heard nervous laughter. "Y-yeah! I'm definitely not scared of any ghosts really popping up. Say, I've got this really cool coat from the forties..."

She smiled.

~!~

They met up before the party to put his ghostly makeup on. America turned the radio to some popular music station as Taiwan set to work, then jumped off his seat (and nearly ruined her handiwork) when it went to static for a few moments.

"Geez, don't do that again," she complained as he sheepishly retook his seat. "I almost gave you a dark streak up your forehead." Thankfully, she had just pulled her hand before he moved.

"Sorry," he laughed. It wasn't nervous this time; in his warm and well-lit kitchen, there was nothing to be afraid of, except maybe the quantity of pumpkin pie and caramel apple he had sitting in his fridge.

"And... there we go!" She handed him her pocket mirror and sat back while he took a look. In the end, he had chosen clothes that had probably been in fashion before the turn of the _last_ century, if that vest was any indication. Most of them had seen better days, with little holes chewed by mice or mysterious stains, but it really added to the effect.

"Wow! I look awesome!" He gave her one of his dazzling grins. "Thanks! And you look pretty good too. I bet we'll be the two best-dressed people there."

She giggled at the compliment and fluffed her dress up. She had gone for a classic all-black, with a tiny witch's hat and a long lace border to her full skirt. For a whimsical touch, though, she'd glued a couple of tiny star-shaped sequins near each eye. "Let's get going, then," she said, reaching out for her mirror as he handed it back over.

America turned his radio off and was just finished checking his phone when the lights suddenly went out. Through the thin moonlight coming in through the window, she saw him freeze halfway through stuffing his phone back in his pocket. "Um, did you–"

"No, but your fridge is still humming, so I bet the bulb just died." She flicked the lightswitch a couple of times, to no avail. "You can replace it tomorrow. Come on, we'll be late."

He was a little slow to follow, staring at the ceiling, so she grabbed his arm and pulled him out.

~!~

The party was _great_. Taiwan hadn't found Japan yet, but she had seen Vietnam, who was dressed in old-fashioned armor and carrying a sword. "You look great!" Taiwan enthused. "Let me guess – um, what's her name. Um, started with a 'chi' sound?"

"Phùng Thị Chính," Vietnam said.

"Yeah, her!"

She nodded. Taiwan thought about asking her where the baby was, but then decided that she might be mixing up Vietnam's stories.

America refused to go on the ghost hunt, so she parted from him for a while to follow Belarus around. Taiwan got to hold the thingy that recorded electromagnetic activity as they looked for disturbances. They didn't really find anything except a few drafts, but that was okay; they had enough fun sneaking up on each other in the narrow, dark, dusty hallways.

The quality of activity slowly started to degrade past midnight. Eventually, Taiwan, yawning, went around to say her good-byes. She edged past the table where Germany, Prussia, and Belgium seemed to be having a drinking contest with the spiked punch, picked up Sealand from where he'd fallen asleep on the floor and set him on a bench, and avoided an untold number of candy wrappers stuck to _everything_.

Hungary was dancing with Austria in a quiet corner, so Taiwan just waved to them and didn't interrupt. Vietnam seemed to be gone, and the lights in the main rooms had been dimmed down so much it was hard to find anyone else she was looking for. America's ghost makeup stood out in the gloom. "There you are," Taiwan set, coming to sit next to him. "I was just about to leave, but I thought I'd say good-bye."

"I was thinking of leaving too," he admitted. "I'll walk you out."

"Okay! What did you think of the party this year?"

"It was pretty slow compared to some years."

"Yeah, I guess, but I thought it was still fun."

"I'm not saying it wasn't fun, just not very exciting."

"I dunno, on the ghost hunt, you know, Finland almost fell down these really narrow, steep stairs, the old-fashioned kind, and when Lithuania started to catch him the wood actually split under his foot and the whole staircase shook. That was pretty exciting. Ah, but no-one got hurt! So it was okay."

America laughed and started to say something, when they were interrupted by a scream. A shape staggered out of a side door into the hallway, human-shaped but not distinguishable in the dark. It made strange repetitive noises, just on the edge of hearing, stumbling closer to them...

Wait, was that...

"Spain?" Taiwan asked. "Is that you?" She absently batted away America's shaking hands from her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Nervous laughter floated up the hallway, and she rushed forward to look. "I, ah, tripped, and it seems like someone dropped a glass," he explained, holding up arms that were covered in broken glass.

"Don't worry, I can help!" America declared. All of a sudden, he seemed to have regained his usual vibrancy. Taiwan went and fished a first-aid kit out of the nearest bathroom and then did her best to distract Spain with conversation while America pulled the glass out of his arms.

Eventually, Spain was all bandaged up and still managed to smile at them as he thanked them and bid them good-night. Taiwan and America continued on their way out with no further interruptions. "See?" Taiwan asked when they finally stepped outside. At America's confused look, she clarified: "No ghosts showed up, right?"

"No, I guess not." He gave their surroundings a glance as if to check.

"Thanks for dressing up with me. It was fun!"

He grinned back, which in the dim light, with the makeup, actually looked pretty scary. "It was no problem, I had fun too. See you soon?"

"Mmhm!"

She hummed all the way back to her house, where it was a relief to kick off her boots and unclip the hat from her head. She threw herself down on her bed and snuggled under the covers. It was always fun to dress up like that; she couldn't wait for her next convention so she could have an excuse to do so once more. Hm, maybe America would be up for dressing up with her again...?


End file.
